2016 Mending Wall - Petite Sirah Calistoga Palisades Vineyard (750ml)

Mending Wall was founded by three families, Frank Dotzler, Mark Pulido, and Donna Walker, who joined forces with acclaimed winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown to create a Napa Valley project built on friendship and experimentation. The name draws from Robert Frost's poem about two neighbors bound together by the boundary they share, a fitting metaphor for a winery devoted to exploring the edges of tradition. Based in St. Helena, the team crafts a portfolio of single-vineyard wines that showcase distinct pockets of Napa terroir.

This bottling comes from the Palisades Vineyard, tucked into a secluded canyon at the foot of the Palisades Mountains in Calistoga. Petite Sirah has grown here since 1974, originally planted under the guidance of Napa legend Vincent Arroyo, and the old vines are farmed organically with meticulous attention to the site's history. Warm days and cooling afternoon breezes through the Chalk Hill Gap give the fruit balanced ripeness and structure.

The wine pours inky purple and opens with boysenberry, blueberry, wet gravel, and a whisper of violet and spice. Full-bodied and firm-tanninned, it carries real concentration with a long, savory finish. Pair it with grilled lamb, braised short ribs, or a hard aged cheese.